🌲 No Gods, No Masters

Anarchism is a social-political theory that defines itself as having no state power, instead using practices like direct democracy, consensus decision-making, and others to allow for a horizontal power structure. Although humans organizing themselves like this in first-world society seems fraught, intentional communities (also called communes, although that typically comes with a negative connotation) are all over the United States.

An Anarchist Social Theory

In Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology by David Graeber, the author explores what such an Anarchist social theory might look like from an anthropological perspective.

He states that two assumptions would need to be made about such a theory. They are that:

1. Another world is possible.
   • Broadly speaking, actively working towards a society where self-autonomy reigns supreme instead of doctrine imposed by the elite while managing thoughts of utopianism.
   • The State typically appears as a utopian project in written record, but in reality systemically extorts (Graeber 2004, 30).
   • Anarchists should allow dreams of utopia to fuel the work they do, but not let it blind us from reasonable objectives that benefit us and our fellow human.
2. Any trace of vanguardism should be rejected.
   • This is where the Anthropology comes in: Ethnographic study keeps in touch with pragmatic acceptance avoiding [[ Cultural toxicity ]] that divides us.

Graeber acknowledges that these two assumptions are seemingly at odds, but unavoidably need to bee in a constant dialogue when involved with anarchist thought (Graeber 2004, 7).

Labor and Anarchism

Radical Unionism

Fighting the business union stereotype, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or Wobblies for short) made what they called revolutionary industrial unionism very clear: [[ An injury to one is an injury to all ]].

The Limits of Government

Mutual Aid

The concept of mutual aid is embodied in the phrase, Solidarity, not charity. Instead of simply offering up resources, those resources are built up alongside those most greatly impoverished through empathetic community support.

Further Reading

• Freeman, Jo. 1970. “The Tyranny of Structurelessness.” https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm.
• Graeber, David. 2004. Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology. Chico: AK Press.

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